General knowledge book 'offensive'; banned in Manipur

Imphal, June 22 (IANS) The Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA) in Manipur has banned the sale of "R. Gupta's General Knowledge Book 2017", describing the book as "offensive".

"No book shop shall stock, display or sell the offensive book," S. Bidyananda, secretary general of KSA, told the media on Tuesday.

The book is published by Ramesh Publishing House in New Delhi.

"The book describes Lai Haraoba, the ancient Manipur religious dance, as a dance of Shiva, Durga and other gods and goddesses," he said.

He argued that the Hindu religion came to Manipur in the 18th century whereas Manipur's religion has been there for generations.

"There are wrong photo captions, spellings and misleading descriptions. Rishang Keishing, a former Chief Minister of Manipur who recently retired as the oldest Rajya sabha MP, was described as a freedom fighter," he said.